A tube of naloxone hydrochloride is shown for scale next to a lipstick container. Narcan is a nasal spray used as an antidote for opiate drug overdoses. / Charles Krupa/Associated Press

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Kathy Deady holds up a tube of naloxone hydrochloride, also known as Narcan, in her Quincy, Mass., home. Narcan is a nasal spray used as an antidote for opiate drug overdoses. Deady twice had to use the drug on her son, who was suffering from an overdose of heroin. / Charles Krupa/Associated Press

What is Narcan?

Narcan, or Naloxone, is a drug used to counter the effects of an opiate overdose. It is typically administered intravenously by ambulance crews and emergency room personnel. Narcan has been available for decades, but has been used with increasing regularity in the Fox Cities in recent years in response to overdoses of opiates, including heroin.

Winnebago County drug overdose deaths

The first time paramedic Lance Notz administered Narcan to a drug overdose victim, he was taken aback by the swift improvement in the patient’s condition.

“I was shocked as to how quick it worked,” said Notz, a member of the emergency response crew at Gold Cross Ambulance Service, which responds to calls in Calumet, Outagamie and Winnebago counties.

The use of Narcan, which reverses the effects of an opiate-based overdose, has risen to unprecedented levels at Gold Cross in recent years. It coincides with the increase in drug overdose deaths and drug prosecutions in Winnebago County.

Winnebago County Coroner Barry Busby said there were a record 27 drug-related deaths in 2012 — five times higher than 2002 levels.

“A good share of the deaths are opiates,” said Busby, who added that there has been an uptick in heroin use.

Busby said the age range of those who died last year was 22 to 68. He speculated that the death toll could have been even higher if authorities hadn’t executed a major heroin bust and arrested 49 people in mid-2012.

The use of Narcan has more than doubled in the past five years, said authorities and emergency services officials.

An overdose of heroin or other opiate can cause respiratory distress and low blood pressure, putting the user in potentially grave danger. If administered in time, Narcan can help a drug user breathe again and quickly get on the road to recovery.

“It pops them back fast,” Busby said. “It does work if they can get it fast enough.”

Steve Krantz, EMS staff development director at Gold Cross, cited a case in early January in which paramedics administered Narcan “with good results” to a person who had overdosed on heroin.

“It reverses the effects of an opiate overdose,” he said.

Krantz said the majority of Narcan dosages are given to those who overdose from recreational use of opiates. “It has been increasing,” he said.

Narcan is used when paramedics see signs of respiratory depression, difficulties in breathing and “pinpoint pupils,” according to Krantz.

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“It decreases the opiate’s effect on the respiratory system,” he said. “Within a minute or two, it can work. It can be quite a remarkable reversal.”

Notz said the signs of distress in an opiate overdose victim can be obvious. “Most of the time, they have either had a very low respiratory rate or they’re not breathing at all,” he said.

It can take as little as 30 seconds to see overdose victims “begin to come out of it” after Narcan is administered, Notz said.

“It’s one of the quickest, most life-saving drug we can give,” he said.

The increase in Narcan usage is indicative of a drug problem that needs to be addressed, Busby said.

“The need to get this out there is important,” he said. “We need to curb the numbers. Everyone that dies here is a loved one or a child to somebody.”

The anti-drug effort by law enforcement includes a billboard that is scheduled to be in place Monday on U.S. 41 near the Winnebago County border.

The billboard has a photo of jail bars and says, “Attention drug dealers: We have vacancies” and contains information about Winnebago Crime Stoppers, said Jason Weber, community liaison with the Town of Menasha Police Department.

“We in law enforcement thought (the increase in drug use, especially heroin) was alarming, and the coroner and police chiefs got together to do something about it,” he said.

Winnebago County Sheriff John Matz said the billboard is part of the anti-drug effort in light of the increase in drug overdose deaths and the heightened use of Narcan.

“We want to let drug dealers know that this is not a place a come. We are arresting them and the district attorney is charging them,” he said.